India to reach pre-pandemic arrivals by March 2023: Tourism Australia

Tourism Australia is hopeful of reaching the pre-pandemic inbound arrival numbers from India by 2023. The destination marketing agency has termed India and Singapore as the two key markets to lead the post pandemic recovery process.

Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager- India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said that they have already witnessed 86% pre pandemic traffic from India for the April to August 2022 period, and are hopeful of reaching the 400,000-arrival-mark by March 2023. “India is our lead booking market, and the traffic is driven by VFR segment, followed by Incentives movement, post pandemic.”

Brent Anderson, Regional General Manager for South & South East Asia, Tourism Australia, they are targeting 1 million arrivals by 2030 from India, and for that the aviation capacity needs to grow by four times of the existing number of flights.

Both Kashikar and Anderson were talking at the launch event of a live-action short film with CGI animated characters. The short film, G’day, is part of a new global tourism campaign inviting international travellers to Come and Say G’day, and plan and book an Australian adventure of their own.

Phillipa Harrison, MD, Tourism Australia, said “Come and Say G’day is unashamedly and unmistakably Australian. After a challenging time around the world, our uplifting and joyful campaign will stand out in what is a highly competitive international tourism market.”

Commenting on the campaign, Anderson said, “India, among other South and Southeast Asian (SSEA) markets have been critical in Australia’s recovery and I’m really excited to reveal our new campaign to inspire even more Indian travellers to explore Australia. Through Ruby and Louie’s adventures, we are inviting travellers to Come and Say G’day – where they can build new authentic connections with friendly Australian locals and communities, our incredible nature, wildlife, islands and beaches, and enjoy our delicious food and drink. We are ready and can’t wait to welcome back our valued travellers from India. We are excited to announce that we have Qantas as our major airline partner across multiple markets, including here in India. You might see Ruby hopping on a Qantas plane in the near future.”